


Becoming The Batman

by GingerAnn



Series: Dick as Bats [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Bruce is dead, Dick Grayson is Batman, Maybe - Freeform, Not Canon Compliant, Or just missing, Wally West is The Flash, Wally is a good friend, Who knows with that guy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-28 09:50:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13268916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GingerAnn/pseuds/GingerAnn
Summary: Bruce Wayne is gone, and it's up to Dick Grayson to take up the cowl and protect Gotham.





	1. A Friendly Face

**Author's Note:**

> This is all because my friend and I were discussing the DC shows on CW. I said I wanted a Batman one, but with Dick as Batman. It then morphed a bit because I was watching Young Justice at the time and loved the Wally and Dick friendship so I wanted to have that happening. Then I brought in some bits from the Justice League animated series (which I was also watching at the time). So, I picked my favorite bits from various things and shoved them all together to make a half-assed story. It's also been sitting on my computer for about a year. Figured it was time to post it.

Dick Grayson was sitting on the roof of Wayne Tower. Jean-clad legs pulled up to his chest, arms wrapped around them. He looked out over the dark city.

“What is it about you bats and your rooftops?” A voice said from behind him.

“They are good places to hide. Normal people don’t look up,” Dick replied as his best friend, Wally West, sat down next to him. The other man was wearing jeans and a Flash hoodie. 

Dick had known Wally since they were kids. Back when Dick was Robin and Wally was Kid Flash, sidekicks to Batman and Flash respectively. Now Wally was Flash. There was a new Robin. And Batman was gone.

“I brought you ice cream,” Wally said setting a backpack between them.

“Ice cream? Really?” Dick asked moving so his legs were dangling over the edge of the roof.

“Yeah, ice cream is perfect for all occasions,” Wally said opening the backpack. He handed Dick a pint of Ben and Jerry’s.

“You’re the best,” Dick said taking the ice cream.

“I know,” Wally said handing over a spoon. He took another pint of ice cream and spoon out of the backpack.

“How did you find me?” Dick asked after taking a few bites of ice cream.

“Well, I went to the manor, but Alfred said you were out. Then Damian started yelling something. But I think he was yelling at Tim. Tim said you left your phone so they couldn’t even track you. Which is creepy,” Wally said while shoving ice cream into his mouth.

“That explained nothing,” Dick said.

“Wait until I’m done,” Wally said. “So, I went to Barbara’s. She said she hadn’t seen you in a couple weeks. But if I wanted she could try to track you using your phone. Does everyone around here just track each other? It’s creepy.”

“But my phone is at the house,” Dick said trying to keep Wally on track.

“Exactly. Then I looked out the window and seen this really tall building. Remembered that you always liked being high up. Especially when you wanted to be alone and think, so ta-da, here I am,” Wally finished spreading out his arms.

“How did you get into Wayne Tower?”

“Oh, when I figured out what the building was I asked Alfred if he could help me out. Alfred loves me,” Wally said with an ice cream covered grin.

“Because you always eat his food and tell him how great it is,” Dick said. 

“Because it is great,” Wally said pointing his spoon at Dick. 

Wally finished his ice cream and then helped Dick finish his. They put the empty containers and spoons back into the backpack. 

“So, why are you in Gotham?” Dick asked leaning back and resting on his elbows.

“Thought maybe you would like to see a friendly face,” Wally replied laying back on the roof. 

“The League sent you,” Dick said.

“It was either me or Superman,” Wally replied.

Dick laid back onto the roof, resting his hands on his stomach.

“Glad you came,” Dick said smiling at the other man. Wally had moved so he was a closer to Dick’s head. He was sitting cross-legged, one elbow resting on a knee, his chin resting in the hand.

“Yeah. I’m not going to ask, you know. Not going to tell you what to do. It’s your decision. I’m just here to talk to you.”

“The League really needs to word their missions better with you.”

“They said ‘Flash, go talk to Nightwing’, so I’m gonna talk to you.”

They were both silent for a minute. Dick broke the silence first, surprised that Wally had stayed quiet for so long.

“Bruce left me a letter. Alfred gave it to me the day of the funeral. He wants me to take up the cowl. Protect Gotham. Become the Batman. I don’t understand it. Why me? Tim is the better detective. Damian is the better fighter.”

“Damian’s a kid,” Wally said.

“Not the point, Kid Idiot,” Dick said rolling his eyes. 

“What do you want to do?”

“I want to run away. I want to take Tim, Damian, and Alfred and just get away from this city. This place is full of death and destruction.   
I’m tired of burying the people I love.”

“Then do it,” Wally said. “Go have a normal life.”

Dick laughed. 

“I don’t think I know how to have a normal life,” he said. 

“From what I understand, a normal life is waking up. Going to work. Coming home. Going to sleep. Repeat.”

“How do people even do that? I can’t go a day without getting punched. Feels weird.”

“Who’s been punching you the past three months?”

“Damian mostly. The kid is determined to train every day.”

“He any good?” Wally asked.

“He’s scary. No sense of humor. He’s like a mini-Bruce. With a sword.”

“He has a sword?”

“He has multiple swords.”

“Your family is weird.”

“Yeah. They are. Speaking of which, I should go. Damian and Tim are probably driving Alfred up the wall,” Dick said before doing a backward roll and standing up.

“What should I tell the League?”

Dick grinned down at his friend before falling off the side of the building. A cackle rang out in the night air. One Wally hadn’t heard since him and Dick were kids. He watched as Dick grappled onto the rooftop of a neighboring building.


	2. New Line-Up

Dick walked into the manor. He followed the yelling to the kitchen. 

“We need to give him time!” Tim yelled.

Damian opened his mouth to shout something back.

“Enough!” Dick yelled. 

They both froze.

“Ah, Master Richard, I see you have returned. Would you like me to heat you up some dinner?” Alfred said.

“Thanks, Alfred,” Dick said before turning back to Tim and Damian. “Sit. Both of you. Now.”

They both sat down at the table. 

Alfred set a plate on the table. Dick sat down and began eating. 

He didn’t speak until his plate was clean.

“Excellent as always, Alfie,” Dick said leaning back in his chair. 

“I’m glad to see that your appetite is back,” Alfred said taking the plate away. 

“Okay. We need to talk,” Dick said.

“About time,” Damian said slouching in his chair. 

“Bruce wanted me to pick up the cowl if anything happened to him,” Dick began.

“We know that,” Damian snapped.

“Let him talk,” Tim snapped back.

“Anyways, I didn’t want to,” Dick said. “I haven’t wanted to be Batman since I was 13 years old. But, Gotham needs Batman and it’s either me or you, Tim.”

“I’d rather it be you,” Tim said.

“For once we agree,” Damian said. 

“Well, I’m glad we all agree, then,” Dick said standing up. “I’ll be in the Cave.”

He went down to the cave and the others didn’t follow him.

He sat down at the computer.

“Voice Activation Required,” the computer said.

“Richard Grayson,” Dick said.

The computer came on. 

“Damian, are you messing with the computer again?” Barbara’s voice said over the speakers.

“It’s me,” Dick said. “I also find it very creepy that you know when we turn on this thing. Are you just sitting there waiting?”

“How are you?” She asked, ignoring his question. 

“I’m better,” Dick sighed.

“Good. Come see me soon,” Barbara said before signing off.

Dick spun around in the chair. He could still remember what it felt like when Bruce first brought him down here. The months Bruce spent training him. The fights they had over small things that didn’t seem to matter anymore. The fight that ended with Bruce firing him as Robin. Feeling replaced when Bruce introduced him to Jason. Getting over it so he could help train the kid. Bruce was always a hard taskmaster, and Jason wasn’t really good at following orders. 

Dick looked over at the glass display cases that held all the old uniforms. Jason’s stood out, of course. It was the only one that had “To Bats” spray painted on it. There were other uniforms that Bruce could have put there. Jason had spare uniforms, but Bruce always liked to torment himself. Thinking about Jason still hurt. Dick looked away from Jason’s uniform and noticed something odd. 

“Alfred!” He yelled. 

“Yes, Master Richard?” Alfred said walking into the cave. 

“Why are there three new uniforms? How far ahead did Bruce plan?” He asked walking over to the cases.

“This time, only about a year ahead,” Alfred said. “You know Master Bruce didn’t like to leave anything to chance.”

“Okay, I get the new bat-suit. I can’t wear Bruce’s. But what is that one?” Dick asked pointing to a case with a brand new uniform. It had black pants and a red tunic, with a utility belt, chest harness and black cowl and cape.

“Oh, I believe that is Master Timothy’s new uniform that he and Master Bruce were working on,” Alfred said. Dick hated it when Alfred acted like he had no idea went on in the cave. Alfred knew more about what was going on than Bruce did most of the time.

“And the Robin uniform?” Dick asked. The uniform had black pants and red tunic, but also big green boots and a black and yellow cape with a hood.

“Master Damian’s,” Alfred said.

“I... But...” Dick ran his hands through his hair. “Bruce is laughing at me right now. I can feel it.”

“Now, Master Richard, you know Master Bruce didn’t laugh,” Alfred said. 

Dick rolled his eyes. 

Tim and Damian emerged from the shadows.

“So, when were you guys going to tell me that the line up has changed?” Dick asked.

“It hadn’t. Not yet. Bruce and I were working on a new suit for me. New code name and everything,” Tim said. “For when he decided Damian was ready to take over as Robin.”

“I’ve been ready,” Damian scoffed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“So, it’s now Batman, Robin and who?” Dick asked.

“Red Robin,” Tim replied. 

“Okay. Okay. Suit up, guess we’ll go test the new suits,” Dick said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come Find me on Tumblr: http://gingerann.tumblr.com


	3. The Bat Is Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile, at the Justice League Watchtower...

“He laughed?” Clark asked.

“Yep,” Wally replied opening a bag of potato chips.

“You told him that we think he should take up the mantle of Batman, and he laughed?” Diana questioned.

“Nope,” Wally said, mouth full of chips. 

“So, he’s going to become Batman,” Clark said.

“I don’t know,” Wally said.

“We sent you to tell him we thought he should become Batman,” Diana said.

“No, you sent me to talk to him. That’s what you said. You said someone should talk to him and I should do it because I was his friend,” Wally said. “Now, you guys weren’t expecting me to go and try to manipulate my best friend into doing what you wanted him to do, were you?”

Clark looked at his feet.

“Thought so,” Wally said. “Anyways, I know Dick. He’s going to do the right thing.” 

"How can you be so sure?" Clark asked.

"Because he always does the right thing. Stop thinking that because Bruce is gone, Dick's gonna trip up," Wally said.

“You’re right,” Diana said. “Even if he doesn’t become Batman, he won’t let Gotham go unprotected.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wally sat in front of the monitors in the Watchtower. Monitor duty was so boring for the speedster. Just a lot of sitting and watching. He tapped a couple keys and got one of the monitors to show Gotham City. After a minute he watched as Batman swung onto a rooftop. He smiled. Robin was soon beside him. As was a new guy. Wally looked closer. No. Not a new guy. Tim in a new suit. Damian was in the Robin suit. Wally might not be a detective on the Bats’s levels, but he spent years around the family. So he could recognize certain things about them. Especially when he knew what to look for. 

Wally kept an eye on everything else, periodically checking in on Gotham. When the three vigilantes seemed to be heading back to the Bat-cave, Wally waited a minute before making a call.

Damian answered the video call.

"This is Robin," he said. The kid was still in uniform and looked cranky.

"Hey. Is the Bat around?" Wally asked casually.

"This is not to be used for social calls," Damian said.

"Yeah, yeah, I’ll get the standard ‘Flash, no’ lecture later,” Wally said waving a hand.

Tim shoved Damian out of the way.

“Hi, Flash,” he said. He was still in uniform, but the cowl was down. He was smiling.

“Damnit, Drake!” Damian yelled.

“Batman will be available shortly,” Tim said as though Damian wasn’t standing behind him yelling obscenities. 

“What is wrong now?” Dick’s voice called. He approached, he was just wearing a pair of sweatpants. “Hey, Wally!”

“Hey, I saw Batman made a return tonight,” Wally said.

“News travels fast,” Dick said. 

Wally could see Tim and Damian arguing behind Dick.

“Hey, that’s big news,” Wally said. “You’ll do good.”

“How do you even know it was me?” Dick asked with a grin.

“Please, like I wouldn’t recognize your moves.”

“Well, let’s hope not a lot of people do. It’s bad enough that Nightwing will suddenly disappear when Batman returns,” Dick said.

“That’s true,” Wally said with a nod. “I know you didn’t want this, but you’ll do good.”

“Thanks, man. Besides, who else will follow Bruce’s rules like I would?”

“Speaking of rules, you could always revoke that ‘no metas in Gotham’ one,” Wally said with a grin.

“Nah, that one keeps out all the riff-raff,” Dick said grinning.

“I’m hurt, Dick, I’m hurt,” Wally said putting a hand on his chest.

“Oh yeah, like you ever obeyed that rule anyways.”

“I obeyed! I was allowed in Gotham as long as I didn’t put on a costume or use any above-average speed,” Wally said.

There was a crash behind Dick. 

“I gotta go. I’ll call you later,” he said rolling his eyes.

“See ya,” Wally said before Dick disconnected the call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on Tumblr: http://gingerann.tumblr.com

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr: http://gingerann.tumblr.com/


End file.
